Landeskunde GB London /

London a City in
Decline

ONDON, the big bang city of

the 1980s, has had its day. A
5
chaotic transport system, competition from better organised rivals and
a dirty and dangerous image will hold it
back in the 1990s, according to a study
of the capitals prospects released this
10week.
The Henley Centre for Forecastings
prediction of Londons relative decline
contrasts with an unfashionable optimism about the national economy.
15Comfortable growth rates of about 3 per
cent are envisaged. But the centre says
development will be in the Home
Counties, East Anglia, the South-west
and the East Midlands. London will lag
20behind with a growth rate lower than
Scotlands, despite the advantages the
Channel tunnel and European integration will bring to the South-east.
In the study, the centre emphasises
25the threat to London and opportunities
for the rest of the country presented by
the widespread belief that the life in the
capital has become brutal. High crime
and the homeless corrode the citys
30prestige. Its overloaded transport
system might not improve before the
end of the century.
The intelligent workers needed by
businesses may also very well be
35repelled by the bleak picture of education painted in London schools. The
perception of London as being educationally sub-normal is deeply damaging, researchers say. London is
40effectively saying to its customers:
come to live and work here and take

a risk with your childrens education.

The centre notes that businesses have
vacancies for skilled staff, whereas the
45unemployed in inner London are largely
untrained.
The importance of putting forward a
positive image to a citys economic
fortunes can be seen in Glasgows
50astonishing success. But Glasgow
also shows that once a bad reputation
has been acquired it can take generations to shake off. Its acceptance as a
great European city has been built on
55the pride of citizens who knew it was
not a crime-infested slum a pride
which is missing in London.
The report stresses that London will
remain a centre of political, commercial
60and cultural life in Britain. But its
international position as Europes
leading financial centre is threatened by
the possibility that Frankfurt may
benefit from a move to a single Euro65pean currency.
A regional revival could be encouraged by growth in telecommuting
using technology to work from home
and the possibility that businesses may
70compete for staff by moving to the
towns where long-distance commuters
live.
The centre comes to the conclusion
that the need for strategic planning for
75London must be recognised. They
pointed to Paris where politicians
compete to show that they can beautify
the capital and hold referenda on their
plans.
hm-abo Mai 1990

Landeskunde GB London /

[Shortened and adapted from THE

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH , 11 March 1990;
423 words]

hm-abo Mai 1990